(Written By Terry Rue R.N – Medically Reviewed By Dr. Zac Hyde M.D)
I could tell you that smoking will kill you in the long run and you’ll shrug and maybe consider quitting.
But let me tell you that smoking will shrink your penis and you’ll never smoke again as long as you live.
It sounds like a stretch – maybe even a fear tactic in your primary doc’s campaign to get you to quit.
However, the research clearly links smoking to shrinkage. Let’s break it down by looking at three main processes caused by smoking:
SMOKING REDUCES BLOOD FLOW
Let’s start with two unlikely culprits impacting men’s sexual health: carbon monoxide and nicotine.
You may already know that the gusto of your penis is largely dependent on a network of small vessels transporting oxygen and nutrient rich blood to and from your body.
Nicotine negatively affects these vessels by causing them to constrict more often and more narrowly than they are designed to.
This constant activity causes stiffening and thickening of those vessels, reducing blood flow.
Because the blood vessels leading to the penis are smaller, they suffer greater damage from nicotine.
Carbon monoxide plays its part in shrinkage by linking to a critical protein in blood called hemoglobin.
Hemoglobin’s job is to transport oxygen.
When carbon monoxide binds to hemoglobin, oxygen cannot effectively be delivered to the penis – causing shrinkage and potentially erectile dysfunction (which we will get to later).
In 1998, researchers from Boston University of Medicine performed a study on 200 men…
And found that the smokers in the group had significantly shorter erect penises than the non-smokers.
This was attributed to the fact that limited blood flow caused by smoking prevents the penis from stretching, leading to shrinkage over time.
SMOKING DAMAGES BLOOD VESSELS
The changes made to blood vessels by nicotine and carbon monoxide lead to the next secret adversary of your sex life: atherosclerosis.
Atherosclerosis simply put is the build up of cholesterol-rich, fatty deposits on the inside of stiffened, scarred blood vessels.
The rough interior gives the plaque something to stick to…
Although this is a leading cause of heart disease, stroke and death – let’s stick to the reason you’re here.
This build-up of plaque prevent the penis from receiving oxygen, hormone and nutrient-rich blood, causing atrophy.
This is the reason that most men who suffer from coronary artery disease also complain of erectile dysfunction.
The reason for this is known by scientists as artery size hypothesis.
This is simply the idea that different organs will show signs of artery damage at different times based off diameter size of arteries.
As we covered before, the penis contains very small arteries, which are more dramatically effected by atherosclerosis.
In fact, many men suffer the effects of ED before they ever discover that they have coronary artery disease.
SMOKING CAUSES ERECTILE DYSFUNCTION
So the science makes sense, but do we have proof that the erectile dysfunction many men suffer from is DUE to smoking?
Well there are studies that suggest, yes.
For example, a study in the American Journal of Epidemiology looked at over 2,000 men and found:
“Compared with former and never smokers, current smokers in their forties had the greatest relative odds of erectile dysfunction.”
In addition, a study in the European Respiratory Journal showed that current smokers had a significantly decreased amount of nitric oxide produced from the body. (A key component in achieving erection).
Nitric oxide is produced in tiny air sacs in the lungs known as alveoli. Alveoli are especially vulnerable to damage from smoking.
Damaged alveoli lead to decreased nitric oxide production.
Decreased nitric oxide production leads to inability of muscles in penis to relax and receive blood flow needed for an erection.
Another study recorded in British Journal of Urology International came to the same conclusion.
However they even noted that the effects of smoking on ability to achieve and maintain erection did not wear off until the men were off of nicotine altogether.
After the men quit smoking and were off of nicotine patches the signs of ED were reversed.
This detail suggests that nicotine alone is detrimental to the health of your penis.
So the dangers of smoking occur in its physical havoc on the lungs as well as in the toxicity of chemicals.
DOES SMOKING SHRINK THE PENIS – CONCLUSION
In short – yes. The thought of quitting may feel overwhelming, but the science indicates the pay off is more than just distant years added onto life span.
In fact, many of the benefits are virtually immediate! According to the American Cancer Society:
- Blood pressure drops just 20 minutes after quitting.
- Carbon monoxide levels in blood decrease only 12 hours after.
- Breathing and blood flow improves drastically 2 weeks to 3 months after.
- Symptoms of lung damage such as coughing and shortness of breath begin to resolve 1 to 9 months after.
- Risk of coronary heart disease drops by 50% and risk of heart attack dramatically decreases after one year.
- Risk of contracting mouth, esophagus, throat and bladder cancer decreases by 50% after five years.
- Stroke risk can decrease to that of a non-smoker after 5 years.
With these statistics in mind, we can conclude that dropping the habit definitely improves vascular health.
As noted before, the health of your vascular system directly correlates with the size and health of your penis.
Not only that, but with a healthier respiratory and cardiovascular system energy levels increase having a direct positive effect on sex drive and performance.
Is it worth the trouble of quitting? We think so! The good news is that it is not too late.
It is still very possible to make this change and see an improvement in penis size and sex performance, as well as overall health.
There are many resources online to help you quit smoking.
The best way to start the process is to talk to a professional and to see what kinds of free resources there are to assist you.
Better to ditch the cigarette than to have a penis the size of one.
Does Smoking Shrink the Penis-Part 2:
You’ve been told forever that smoking is bad for your heart and lungs, for your teeth, and probably for your skin.
But lately you’ve been hearing alarming things about it being bad for your penis.
Can it be true? Can smoking actually make your penis smaller?
The short answer is yes. Kind of. In a roundabout way. And maybe also directly.
Here’s the long answer.
Smoking is Really, Really Bad For You
It’s likely you’ve heard this before, but if you’re reading this article you might need a reminder.
Or you’re finally ready to listen now that we’re talking about something that really matters.
Here’s a partial list of the stuff that can go wrong with your body if you’re a habitual smoker, according to the Centers for Disease Control:
- Lung cancer
- Coronary heart disease
- Stroke
- Damaged blood vessels
- Emphysema
- COPD
- Reduced bone health
- Tooth decay and gum disease
- Rheumatoid arthritis
- Cataracts
Smoking also increases your risk of all kinds of non-lung cancers, including cancers of the bladder, colon, rectum, esophagus, kidney, larynx, liver, pancreas, stomach, and trachea.
It’s seriously bad news for your general health. Poor general health can lead to penile shrinkage in two ways.
First, it accelerates the impact of aging…
Age-related testosterone loss causes hypogonadism (shrinking of the testes and penis). Fortunately, you can do things to counteract it.
Smoking does the opposite, actually making that shrinking come on faster.
Second, it reduces erectile quality because of its negative impact on your general health.
If your boners aren’t as strong as possible, they’re not as long as possible. That means a smaller penis when it matters most.
Beyond these general issues on the size of your member, smoking also makes some direct attacks against your worth and girth.
Read on…
Smoking Shrinks Penis Size During Erections
Smoking does its worst damage against your lungs, throat, mouth, and other parts of your body it touches directly.
That’s why the American Lung Association leads one of the most aggressive anti-smoking campaigns you’ll ever find.
It does its second worst damage against your circulatory system.
It damages your heart, leads to constriction of and damage to your blood vessels, and increases your risk for problems with blood pressure and blood flow.
As you might remember from health class, you get erections because your penis floods with blood. That’s what makes it hard (think of a water balloon filling up).
If your circulatory system is all messed up because of your smoking, it can cut that blood flow to an unreliable trickle (think of filling a water balloon with a squirt gun).
That doesn’t necessarily mean you won’t be able to get it up at all if you keep smoking.
It does mean you’re likely to experience weaker erections with each passing year.
Weaker erections are smaller erections, like I suggested earlier.
But don’t just take my word for it…
A 2005 study published in the American Journal of Epidemiology found that men who smoked were more likely to suffer from full erectile dysfunction — almost twice as likely, in fact (source).
The study didn’t look at what caused the correlation. Neither did the multiple other studies that found the same results.
That’s because the mechanics of it are pretty well understood.
And, as we saw further up in this article, weak erections make your penis seem smaller at the worst possible time.
Even if smoking doesn’t cause outright no-boner erectile dysfunction, it will soften and shrink your package when it’s, um…time to deliver.
Smoking Damages Testicular Health
Hurting your testicles accelerates that age-related shrinkage I mentioned earlier, because it harms the organs that make your testosterone.
One of the early warning signs that your testicles are in trouble is declining health of your sperm.
A stack of studies have demonstrated smoking is bad for your little swimmers.
A few examples:
- A 1999 study in Bath, UK found it caused mutation within the DNA carried by a smoker’s sperm at a rate of 150% that of nonsmokers.
- Mexico: 2009. A university study found smokers had lower sperm density, viability, and motility, and higher occurrence of misshapen sperm than non-smokers (source).
- A Bulgarian study in 2004 found that smokers produced sperm with damaged cell membranes in significantly higher quantity than nonsmokers of the same approximate age.
Those damaged sperm mean damaged and unproductive testicles. Damaged testicles mean less testosterone. Less testosterone = smaller gonads.
Penis size can also be impacted by psychology.
This is mostly another aspect of erection quality, but some conditions like depression can also reduce testosterone, leading to direct penis shrinkage.
As it turns out, this interacts negatively with smoking in a number of ways:
- Smoking can reduce libido
- Reduced cardiovascular health can impact sexual performance
- Smoking is linked with depression — it can be a symptom or a cause
- If your partner doesn’t smoke, fighting about smoking can impact your sex life
- The nicotine “buzz” constricts blood flow, which can immediately reduce erectile quality
- Second-hand smoke can impact your partner’s health, including her sexual health
There are just so many ways smoking can mess with your penis.
Many health officials prefer not to mention this. They want to tell you about how you’ll die young hooked up to a CPAP machine…but we know what’s really important to you.
Your pecker.
Does Smoking Shrink the Penis- Final Answer:
One way smoking will absolutely shrink your penis: it’s probably going to kill you.
Once rigor mortis fades, you’ll be stuck with your flaccid size for the rest of eternity…at least as much of eternity as your body sticks around.
But all (partial) kidding aside, smoking is bad for your whole body. Since your whole body includes your penis, it’s bad for your penis size in a general way.
As you saw above, it’s also bad for penis size in two very specific ways.
So seriously. Pretty please…quit smoking.
Update:
If you could use a bit more motivation, watch this 62 second clip from an MD discussing how smoking shrinks the penis…